Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-06-26
DESERT LANDS.
Claims TO be Forfeited for Nom
Compliance with the Law.

WASHINGTON, June 25.-Commissione
Sparks o.day took the necessary prelim
mary steps to cancel fifty.five desert
land entries in Wyoming Territory, ag-
gregatug in all about 35, 900 acres. The
Commissioner in his letter to the Regis
ter and Receiver at Cheyenne states
that the final proof in all of these cases
is substantially the came and is to the
effect that by means of the bitches al.
ready constructed an ample supply of
water is at hand to properly irrieate the
lands; that the claimants own right to
the water thus secured and have never
parted with their interest thus reclaimed
and have never agreed to do so. A
special of the general land Office upon
investigation reports the following:
bitches that would carry water have
ever been constructed, while the few
bitches that have actually been con-
structed have never been utilized.
A survey of one large and
several smaller diiches was made
and plow burrows made in many places
to show the line of surveys, but no
actual bona fide ditching was ever done
by the claimants, or by any one for
them. All the ditching that was done
was of the most shadowy nature and
was not substantially useful nor intend
ed to be so. The land has not been re.
claimed nor irrigated to the slightest
degree on any one of the fifty-five cases
enumerated, and was, at the date of the
Investigation, in the same condition it
was at the time the entry was made.
The Goshen Hall Ditcbing Company
and the Union Cattle Company are
kindred corporations doing business in
the Territory of Wyoming and the
officers of the latter are also officers of
the former.
NO EFFORT MADE.
The Ditching Company had in hand
for itself and the Union Cattle Company
the construction of system of ditches
with which TO irrigate these entries, but
at only one point alone of the whole
line of 30 or 40 miles has ditch ever
been constructed so as to carry water.
and even here it has not been utilized.
At many points where cuts of from four
to eight feet were required by the sur
vey a cut of only one foot is made and
where fills are required none are
found. The surface line of the ditch
presents the same general appearance;
that is, one foot cut throughout its en-.
tire length. Again where the land is
rocky no attempt was made beyond a
single plow furrow to mark the line of
the intended ditch. Where fumes were
required to span gullies and gulches no
fumes are to be found. 1t is evident
from the nature and character of the
work done that these skeleton bitches
were made solely for the purpose OF
proving up. What was done was at the
instance OF Thomas Sturgis, President Of
the Goshen Hall Ditching Company and
Union Cattle Company. AT the dates
of the final proof it was known by Stur.
gis that the bitches so.called were not
capable of carrying water on to the land
while as each entry stands alone on the
books, there is connection between them
all, and it lies in the fact that each was
made in the interest of the two compa.
nies named or of some officers or mem.
bers thereof.
ORIGIN OF THE ENTRIES.
OF the tifty-five entry-men seven live
in Wyoming, seven in New Jersey,
thirty in New York and eleven in
Massachusetts,. Inspector Powers went
to New York, New Jersey and Massachu-
setts and interviewed number of the
entrymen. The information he gained
shows that Sturgis procured the making
of the entries. These foreign entrymen
made entries merely to oblige friend
and never considered that they actually
had any interest in the lands, nor have
they ever had any individual water
rights. They held papers they had not
examined, nor knew the purport of.
They had simply served a friend and not
one of then even anticipated any remun-
Grafton for so doing.